Here is an interactive timeline covering the last 60 years of manufacturing and MRP software.
Manufacturing and MRP software has a long and complicated history. Thousands of software vendors have entered the market with varying levels of success. Some brought innovative products to the manufacturing industry and quickly gained market share while others floundered and faded to oblivion. In any event, the developments in manufacturing software and technology have helped shape enterprise software into what it is today. The history of manufacturing and MRP software is a history that few people know but it is one that is worth understanding
While the history is meaningful, it is admittedly a tad dry. The manufacturing software industry isn’t really known for being super engaging. At Software Advice we know this all too well. We thought we would take a shot at spicing this history up a bit to make it more digestible for the casual reader. What we came up with was an interactive timeline covering the last 60 years of manufacturing and MRP software. You can see our version of the history of MRP programs on our website.
We’ve included 20 events that we think were definitive moments in shaping the history of this software. We start in the late 1950’s when the first machines for logging inventory on electronic tape drums were put to use by Maytag and bring you all the way to the present day where you don’t even need a database to run your software. To make the timeline a little more interesting, we’ve added an illustration next to each event we highlight.
We think we’ve captured a lot of the major milestones, but we know there must be a few key dates that went missing. We’d like for this timeline to become a community effort, a kind of “wiki” timeline, so we are enlisting the help of resident experts and gurus.
If you fancy yourself in this league, or just want to share a general comment, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or call me 512-364-0130. Software Advice is a free online resource that presents reviews and comparisons of manufacturing software.
